Wipro commits Rs 1,000 cr for Covid-19

Mumbai: IT major Wipro's philanthropic arm has committed an additional Rs 1,000 crore of grants over and above the Rs 1,125-crore support it had announced in the early days of the pandemic last year, its Founder Chairman Azim Premji said on Tuesday. The additional grant will be directed primarily on universal vaccination, Premji said while speaking at the foundation day event of the Bombay Chartered Accountants' Society.

In the early days of the pandemic last year, Wipro had announced a Rs 1,125-crore aid for the pandemic, which also included converting its facilities at Pune into hospitals.

"As our work as well as our situation evolved, we realised that focus on universal vaccination was just as important as other initiatives. So, we have added that as a key element of our COVID-19 relief strategy, and committed an additional Rs 1,000 crore for it," Premji said.

Premji said a comprehensive set of plans was drawn up in the early days itself to tackle both the humanitarian and health aspects.

Grassroot teams were organised consisting of 1,600 full-time employees of the Azim Premji Foundation, 55,000 employees working for its partners, 10,000 teachers and 2,500 alumni of the Azim Premji University.